—CHAPTER FOUR—

Crackers and Flatbreads

If you have any affinity at all for a rolling pin, you can make all kinds of flatbreads, including crackers, tortillas, naan, Armenian lavash (cracker bread), and all the myriad variations of flatbread, crisp bread, and parchment bread from various cultures around the world.

If the word “bread” conjures up fears of working with yeast, don’t be intimidated. We’ll allay all those fears further along in this book, but for now, fear not: Most of the following recipes don’t use yeast. Just flour and a do-it-yourself attitude!

Crackers

Crackers and milk. Crackers and soup. Cheese and crackers. Crackers and peanut butter. Crackers are one of the most beloved and simple snacks, and can be an excellent prelude to a more substantial meal. They pair beautifully with dips, spreads, and wine and cheese. They’re exceedingly easy to make (and they’re also an unusual and thoughtful gift).

The following cracker recipes range from plain (water biscuits) to more colorful (curry and ginger), but they all have one thing in common: They begin with a simple combination of flour, fat, and liquid. In fact, crackers are a lot like pie crust. They exhibit the same changes when the formula is varied: The more fat and less water, the flakier and more tender the cracker; the less fat and more water, the crisper and harder the cracker. The following recipe will familiarize you with the basics of the cracker-making process.

Cracker-Making Tools

As we made batch after batch of crackers, we discovered a couple of tools that make the whole job incredibly easy. One is a giant spatula (see Tools, page 546), with a 10^″ × 10^″ blade, perfect for lifting the dough as you roll (to sprinkle more flour underneath to prevent sticking), and also ideal for transferring the unbaked crackers to the baking sheets and the baked crackers to the cooling rack. The other tool we just couldn’t have done without is a rolling pizza cutter (or, for a more intricate look, a crimped pastry wheel). Using the cutter, we were able to cut 95 to 100 crackers out of a piece of rolled dough in less than 10 seconds. And we discovered a 1-liter clamp-top Mason jar is just about the perfect size to hold most batches of crackers; the rubber gasket keeps crackers nice and fresh, and a red ribbon tied around the top is all you need in the way of wrapping or decoration if you’re giving the crackers as a present.

Basic Crackers

About 96 crackers

2 cups flour (all-purpose, pastry, whole wheat, rye, barley, or semolina)

optional flavorings (spices, herbs, extracts, seeds, and/or minced vegetables)

2 to 8 tablespoons fat (butter, vegetable shortening, or oil)

2 to 8 tablespoons liquid (water, milk, beer, yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place flour in a mixing bowl. Add flavorings, if using. Cut in fat as if you were making pie crust, until the mixture forms small, even crumbs. Then quickly stir in the liquid, using only enough to hold the dough together. Too much will toughen the crackers and make them hard to roll out. Remember, the more fat you use, the less liquid you’ll need.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface or board. Using a heavy rolling pin and a firm hand, use a minimal number of strokes to roll the dough very thin—¹/16^″ to 1/8^″ is the norm. The fewer strokes it takes you to roll out the dough, the more tender your crackers will be. Prick the dough all over with a fork.

1. Roll out cracker dough to 1/8^″ thick. Brush with water and sprinkle with salt, if desired, then prick holes all over the dough with a fork or dough docker (pictured).

2. Use a ruler and a pizza wheel (or sharp knife) to cut the dough into strips, then cut again into cracker shapes.

Cut the dough into 2½^″ squares, rounds, or triangles.

Transfer the crackers to a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crackers just begin to brown.

Remove the crackers from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool. They’ll become crisp as they cool. Store in an airtight container.

Which Flour Should I Use?

Crackers are one of the baking world’s most flexible recipes. You can make a successful cracker from just about any type of flour you choose.

Bakers usually prefer to use a medium-protein flour; this gives crackers a tender bite, with sufficient body to avoid crumbling. We find all-purpose flour (about 11.7% protein) makes a dough that’s extensible enough to roll out nicely without fighting back, yet strong enough to hold together while rolling and cutting. The resulting cracker is crisp-hard. For a cracker that’s crisp but more tender, try blending one part cake or pastry flour with three parts all-purpose; the price you’ll pay is a bit more difficulty handling the dough. However, if you’re an accomplished pie crust baker, we suggest you give this formula a try.

To make whole grain crackers, substitute a whole grain flour—rye, whole wheat, or white whole wheat (see pages 460–462)—for one-fourth to one-third of the all-purpose flour in the recipe. You won’t experience any noticeable problems in handling the dough at this level of substitution, but any greater percentage of nonwhite flour will produce a crumbly or sticky dough. Crackers don’t have adequate water in the dough to hydrate the bran in the whole grain flour enough so they’ll hold together as well.

Rich Crackers

About 96 round crackers

We don’t call these rich for nothing! Butter, egg, and cream enrich the dough, which is made just like pie crust.

2 cups (240g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2½ tablespoons (31g) sugar

4 tablespoons (½ stick, 56g) butter, cold

1 large egg

6 tablespoons (85g) cream

2 to 3 tablespoons (28g to 42g) butter, melted

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Cut in the butter. In a separate bowl, use a fork to stir the egg and cream together until smooth. Add to flour / butter mixture and stir until mixture forms a loose ball. Gather in your hands and squeeze together. Pat into an oval about 1^″ thick, wrap in waxed paper, and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle between ¹/16^″ and 1/8^″ in thickness. Cut dough into rounds with a 3^″ or smaller cutter. Repeat with remaining dough scraps. Unlike pie crust, this repeated rolling doesn’t seem to toughen the final product. Transfer rounds to lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets and prick each round several times with a fork.

Bake crackers for 6 minutes. Remove pan from oven, turn crackers over, and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until crackers are lightly browned. Remove crackers from oven and brush with melted butter. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Nutrition information per serving: 2 crackers, 11g

Cheese Pennies

About 80 pennies

If you’re a lover of cheese crackers in any form, these homemade cheese pennies will be a revelation. A rich concoction of cheese and butter held together with a bit of flour and baked until golden brown, they’re given a spicy kick with a hit of cayenne. These are very good served with drinks—nonalcoholic or otherwise.

8 ounces (2 cups, 224g) finely grated sharp cheddar or Asiago cheese

8 tablespoons (1 stick, 113g) unsalted butter

1½ cups (180g) unbleached all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dry mustard

1/8 to ¼ teaspoon cayenne

paprika (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients except paprika to make a cohesive dough, sprinkling in a tablespoon or so of water if the dough doesn’t seem to come together. As soon as it does, turn off the mixer and gather it into a rough ball. Transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a 16^″ log about 1½^″ in diameter.

Wrap the log in waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill it in the freezer for 30 minutes. (If you want to freeze it longer, make sure to remove it from the freezer about 30 minutes before you slice it into pennies.)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

1. Chilled dough can be cut into uniform disks with the help of a bench knife.

2. To roll dough into a log, put it on a sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Fold the paper over, and press on the top sheet. Pull the bottom sheet toward you to tighten the dough into a log shape before refrigerating.

Remove the plastic wrap or waxed paper, and, using a bench or serrated knife, slice the log crosswise into 1/8^″ rounds. Place them on an ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving only about ½^″ between; they won’t spread much as they bake. Sprinkle them with a bit of paprika, if desired.

Bake the cheese pennies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they’re just beginning to brown. Remove them from the oven and let cool on the pan for several minutes before transferring them to racks to cool completely.

Nutrition information per serving: 5 pennies, 34g

Benne Wafers

36 wafers

These ethereally light, snapping-crisp, sweet sesame crackers are a popular favorite in South Carolina’s Lowcountry and neighboring areas. These rich brown crackers have a nutty and subtly sweet flavor and an interesting texture: solid and crisp on the bottom, crunchy-light on top. They are awfully close to being a cookie.

8 tablespoons (1 stick, 113g) unsalted butter

1 cup (213g) light brown sugar, packed

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup (120g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup (140g) toasted sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, vanilla, and egg. Add the flour and mix until smooth. Stir in the sesame seeds.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here) onto parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheets. Bake the wafers for 8 to 9 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, let cool for 1 minute on the pan, then transfer the wafers to a rack to cool completely.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 wafer, 18g

Rye Crisps

60 crackers

The flavors of this deeply dark brown, substantial rye cracker make it a worthy base for smoked Gouda cheese and the best charcuterie you can find.

Crackers

1½ cups (180g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1½ cups (168g) medium rye flour or pumpernickel flour

3 tablespoons (21g) nonfat dry milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon (8g) caraway seeds or 2 teaspoons ground caraway

½ cup (77g) vegetable oil

¾ cup (168g) milk, lukewarm

1 egg, separated

Egg Wash

1 egg yolk (reserved from above)

1 tablespoon (14g) milk or water

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, dry milk, baking powder, and yeast. Add the vinegar, salt, caraway, and oil. The mixture will be crumbly because you’re coating some of the flour with oil; this prevents some gluten from developing that would otherwise toughen the cracker unpleasantly.

In a small bowl, whisk the warmed milk and egg white together, then add this to the flour mixture. Mix, then knead the dough by hand or mixer to form a smooth ball.

Place the dough into a greased bowl, turn it to coat, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 1 hour, then refrigerate it for several hours, or for up to 24 hours. Don’t expect a big, bread-like rise; it will just become a bit puffy, but the flavor will improve as it rests.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly greased or floured work surface. Roll it into a 14^{̋ x}17^″ rectangle, slightly less than 1/8^″ thick. If the dough starts to shrink or tear, cover it and let it rest for a few minutes before continuing. Before cutting it, transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment paper or a lightly greased baking sheet. Remember, though, you’ll be cutting the crackers on the pan, so place the dough only onto a pan that may be cut on, or line a nonstick pan with parchment.

Prick the dough all over with a fork.

Cut the dough into sticks or triangles using a pizza wheel, pastry cutter, or bench knife. Don’t worry about separating them; they’ll break apart easily along the scored lines when cool.

To make the egg wash: Mix the reserved egg yolk with the tablespoon of milk or water. Brush the top of the crackers with this mixture and let them rest, covered, for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake the crackers for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven heat to 325°F and continue to bake for 30 to 40 minutes. The crackers should be golden brown and feel firm when pressed; you will also suddenly catch the aroma of caraway when the crackers are done.

Remove the crackers from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Store them in airtight containers for 4 to 5 days.

Nutrition information per serving: 5 crackers, 62g

Vermont Cheese Crackers

About 100 crackers

Crisp and fantastically cheesy, these savory crackers are worlds better than any cheese cracker you’ve ever bought from a store. The secret ingredient is cheese powder, which blends more seamlessly into the dough than grated cheese will.

1½ cups (159g) Italian-style flour or 1½ cups (180g) unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup (57g) Vermont cheddar cheese powder

1 teaspoon instant yeast

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup (50g) vegetable shortening

7 to 8 tablespoons (99g to 113g) ice water

Whisk together the flour, cheese powder, yeast, salt, and baking powder.

Add the shortening, working it in to make an unevenly crumbly mixture.

Stir and toss in enough of the ice water to make a cohesive (but not sticky) dough.

Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a small rectangular slab.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to a couple of hours; don’t chill longer than that. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Very lightly flour a piece of parchment, your rolling pin, and the top of the dough. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough about ¹/16^″ thick, or slightly thicker. If you don’t have parchment, roll on a lightly floured work surface or silicone rolling mat. The dough will have ragged, uneven edges; just try to make it as even as possible.

If you’ve used parchment, gently slide the parchment and crackers onto a baking sheet. Cut the dough into 1¼^″ squares; a rolling pizza wheel works well here. Don’t separate the squares. If you haven’t used parchment, gently fold the rolled dough in half, pick it up, and place it on a lightly greased baking sheet, then cut it.

Prick each square with the tines of a fork.

Bake the crackers for about 8 minutes, until the ones on the outside are starting to brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven, and transfer the browned crackers to a cooling rack or piece of parchment—these outer crackers are done. Quickly and carefully pull the remaining crackers apart to separate them. Return to the oven.

Bake for an additional 3 minutes or so, or until the remaining crackers are a very light golden brown. You’ll need to watch these closely at the end; don’t walk away from the oven. They go from golden to dark brown very quickly.

Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan. When completely cool, store in an airtight container.

Nutrition information per serving: 5 crackers, 19g

Put Them Through the Wringer

If you have a pasta machine, many cracker doughs can be rolled out in it, from fairly thick to ultra-thin. Those made with more fat and less liquid, and/or with a lower-protein flour, may be too fragile to put through the machine’s rollers. You’ll need to be the judge of whether the dough you’re working with is strong enough to take it. But if it is, once the pasta machine rolls out the dough in a long strip, it’s very simple to cut it into square or rectangular crackers with a pizza wheel.

Gourmet Soda Crackers

About 45 crackers

Light and crunchy, these yeasted crackers are incredibly flavorful (and comforting!) on their own but also make a nice blank canvas for other flavors such as herbs, cheese, and spices.

1½ cups (163g) Italian-style flour

2 teaspoons instant yeast

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon sugar

6 tablespoons (85g) water

2 tablespoons (28g) butter

2 tablespoons (25g) vegetable oil

flavored salt, for topping (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar. Set it aside.

Put the water, butter, and oil in a microwave-safe cup, or in a saucepan. Heat gently just to melt the butter. Remove from the heat, and cool to 120°F to 130°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, this will feel hotter than lukewarm but not at all uncomfortably hot; it’ll be cooler than your hottest tap water.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Beat at medium, then high speed for a total of about 90 seconds, to make a soft dough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 18 hours. It won’t rise much; the bowl can be small.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Lightly flour a work surface (a silicone rolling mat works well here), and remove the dough from its rising bowl. It won’t feel like normal yeast dough; it’ll be more clay-like. Shape the dough into a 3^{̋ x}5^″ rectangular block; pre-shaping it like this will help you roll it out evenly. Roll it into a rough 13^{̋ x}15^″ rectangle; it’ll be quite thin. Be sure to keep the rolling surface well floured, to avoid sticking.

Starting with a shorter side, fold the dough in three like a business letter.

Roll it out again, this time into an 11^{̋ x}19^″ rectangle, or thereabouts. The dough will shrink when you stop rolling it; your goal is to end up with a rectangle that’s about 10^{̋ x}18^″.

Sprinkle the dough with your choice of salt—we like an herbed or smoked salt—and gently press it in with the rolling pin.

Using a rolling pizza wheel (easiest) or a bench knife, cut the dough into 2^″ squares. (If you’re using a silicone mat, cut very carefully to avoid damaging the mat. We like to use an acrylic-blade pizza wheel.)

Transfer the crackers to two lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets; you can put them fairly close together, as they’ll shrink as they bake, rather than spread. Prick each cracker once or twice with the tines of a fork.

Bake the crackers for about 10 minutes, until they’re a very light golden brown. Watch them carefully toward the end of the baking time; they can darken very quickly.

Turn off the oven and open the door completely. Leave the crackers on the oven rack; they’re going to cool down right in the cooling oven, in order to preserve their crispness. Keep your eye on them for the first couple of minutes. If for some reason your oven isn’t cooling off quickly, and the crackers are continuing to brown, pull the rack out partway.

When the crackers are completely cool, remove them from the oven, and wrap airtight, to preserve their crispness.

Nutrition information per serving: 5 crackers, 36g

Smoky Chili Crackers

About 72 crackers

These crackers smell deliciously of cumin as they bake, and they turn a very attractive deep golden orange. Chipotle powder gives the crackers a pleasing, smoky flavor.

1½ cups (180g) unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup (67g) yellow or white cornmeal

1 tablespoon (8g) nonfat dry milk

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon chipotle powder

¼ cup (44g) vegetable shortening

1 tablespoon (17g) tomato paste

scant ½ cup (105g) water

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, dry milk, cumin, baking soda, salt, sugar, and chipotle powder. Cut in the shortening and tomato paste, then add enough water to make a workable dough. Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into two pieces.

Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8^″ thickness. Cut it into 1½^″ squares and bake the crackers for 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool on the pan. Store in an airtight container.

Nutrition information per serving: 3 crackers, 10g

Crisp Crackers

Crackers may be made totally without leavening, in which case their texture comes solely from the inner steam created as they bake (as with a flaky pie crust). Unleavened crackers are generally tender and flaky (rather than crisp) if they’re fairly thick, or quite hard (think hardtack) if they’re rolled thin. Adding a leavening agent, either yeast or chemical (baking soda, baking powder, or cream of tartar), will produce a crisper, lighter cracker. These leaveners contribute to the mouth-feel we recognize as “crisp” by producing carbon dioxide gas, which is trapped within the cracker dough as it bakes. The mixture of air and baked dough is what transforms “tough” or “hard” into “crisp.”

To produce crisp crackers, moisture that begins in the dough needs to leave the cracker as it bakes. This is why crackers are often “docked”—that is, pricked with a fork, in the case of the home baker. Not only do these holes allow steam to escape, they prevent the cracker from blowing up like a balloon. A typical cracker dough may contain 45% liquid; by the time the cracker is baked, that number should be down to 5% to 6%. Thus crackers need a thorough baking, either at a high temperature for a short amount of time, or at a lower temperature for a correspondingly longer length of time. Very thin cracker doughs (1/16^″) seem to do better with a short, hot bake (although you need to watch them very carefully, as the thinner the cracker, the more quickly it goes from baked to burned). Thicker cracker doughs (up to ¼^″) do better with a longer, slower bake, to completely dry out the interior of the cracker without burning the exterior.

Almond Flour Crackers

About 120 square crackers

Delicious and versatile, these crackers (which happen to be gluten-free) can easily be customized from simple to savory to sweet. Try one of our four favorite flavor options, or experiment to create your own new favorite. Note that using finely ground, rather than coarsely ground, blanched almond flour will yield the crispiest crackers, although both types will work.

1 large egg

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1¾ cups (168g) finely ground almond flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Whisk together the egg, salt, and pepper.

Add the almond flour, stirring to make a cohesive dough.

Place the dough onto a sheet of parchment, or a piece of plastic wrap. Pat it out with your hands, and top with an additional piece of parchment or plastic wrap. Roll the dough out to about 1/8^″ thickness; it should be about 10^{̋ x}12^″ or larger.

Remove the top paper, and use a pizza wheel or knife to cut 1^″ squares. Move the cut crackers, along with their parchment, to the baking sheet. If you’ve used plastic wrap, spray the pan with nonstick baking spray, and transfer the crackers from the plastic to the pan.

Bake the crackers for 14 to 16 minutes, until they’re light golden brown. The crackers around the perimeter will tend to brown more quickly, so transfer those to a cooling rack and return the pan to the oven to finish baking the remaining center crackers.

Cool the crackers completely before transferring them to an airtight bag for room-temperature storage.

Variations

Cheese Crackers: Add ¼ teaspoon mustard powder, a dash of Tabasco or a pinch of cayenne pepper, and 1 cup (100g) finely grated cheese along with the egg, salt, and pepper.

Seedy Crackers: Add 1 to 2 tablespoons (9g to 18g) sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or the seed blend of your choice along with the egg, salt, and pepper.

Spicy Crackers: Add 1½ teaspoons curry powder, plus ¼ teaspoon hot sauce (such as Sriracha or Tabasco) along with the egg, salt, and pepper for an extra kick.

Cinnamon Sugar Crackers: Omit the black pepper, and sprinkle 2 tablespoons (25g) cinnamon sugar over the tops of the crackers before baking.

Nutrition information per serving: 24 crackers, 30g

Thin Wheat Crackers

About 96 crackers

These crisp, golden brown wheat crackers are much better than the ones you buy in the store. They owe their subtle nutty flavor to both whole wheat flour and sesame seeds.

1 cup (120g) unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup (140g) whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour

¼ cup (35g) sesame seeds

¼ cup (49g) sugar

½ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons (½ stick, 56g) butter

scant ½ cup (105g) milk

coarse salt (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sesame seeds, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter, then stir in the milk, adding just enough milk to form a workable dough.

Divide the dough into three pieces and roll it out ultra-thin, one piece at a time—¹/16^″, if you can manage it. Sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt, if desired, and use the rolling pin to press the salt into the dough.

Cut the dough into 1^{̋ x}2^″ rectangles. Transfer the crackers to baking sheets and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until they begin to brown. Cool on a rack.

Nutrition information per serving: 9 crackers, 50g

Wine Biscuits

About 32 biscuits

These sweet, peppery-hot biscuits are a variation on a traditional Italian favorite, biscotti di vino: hard, semisweet biscuits served with an after-dinner cheese, or as a pre-dinner aperitif. Enjoy them with a glass of sangria and you won’t be sorry! The term “biscuit,” as it’s used here, refers to a hard, fairly dense cracker-type bread rather than the flaky, buttery bread variety.

2½ cups (300g) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

4 to 6 tablespoons (50g to 70g) sugar, to taste*

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (140g) dry red wine

¼ cup (50g) vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pepper, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wine and vegetable oil. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat vigorously until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

These biscuits are traditionally shaped into a round, mini-bagel shape, but we found that they were more appealing when cut into shapes with a cutter out of rolled ½^″ thick dough. If you want to make the more traditional shape, break off a piece of dough about the size of a walnut (about 20g) and roll it into a ball. Poke a hole in the middle of the ball to make a small bagel-shaped biscuit. Place it on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake the biscuits for 35 to 40 minutes, or until they’re golden brown (they’ll actually look a bit purple from the red wine). Remove them from the oven and cool completely on a rack.

* The greater amount of sugar will make a biscuit that is just about as sweet as a cookie; the lesser amount will yield a more savory type of biscuit.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 biscuit, 20g

Crisp Seeded Mega-Crackers

8 large crackers

We truly believe that if the four food groups consisted of chips, dips, crackers, and cheese, many people could die happy. From good old sour cream onion dip and rippled chips to a luscious St. André triple-crème cheese spread on a crostini, the combination of salty and savory and creamy and crisp is unbeatable. The following recipe makes snapping-crisp, saucer-size crackers that look lovely presented in a bread basket. (You can easily swap other small seeds for the sesame seeds.) We thank author Lora Brody, a fellow snack lover, for the inspiration behind these crackers.

3 cups (360g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1¼ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup (95g) toasted sesame seeds

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons (21g) olive oil

1 cup (224g) water, cool

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, seeds, and pepper. Stir in the olive oil, mixing thoroughly, then add the water, tossing with a fork until the dough becomes cohesive. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead and turn it over a few times to smooth it out. Divide the dough into eight pieces and allow them to rest, covered, for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. If you have a baking stone, be sure to use it; it will make the crispest crackers.

Roll one or two pieces of dough (as many as will fit on your baking stone at once) as thin as possible; you’ll make rounds 8^″ to 9^″ across. Using a peel or giant spatula, transfer the rounds to the stone and bake them for about 4 minutes, then flip them over and bake about 2 minutes on the second side, until they’re golden brown on both sides.

If you don’t have a baking stone, bake these on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet set on the middle rack of your oven; they’ll take about 6 minutes on the first side, 4 minutes on the second. Remove the crackers from the oven as soon as they’re brown and transfer them to a rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds. Store crackers airtight.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 cracker, 77g

Flatbreads

When you think flatbread, think big. Flatbreads take many forms, but they’re often round—sometimes thin, sometimes soft and flexible (tortillas), sometimes crackly-crisp (crackerbread or crisp bread), sometimes sturdy enough to support a large helping of dip or cheese. Here we’ve included only those breads that are unleavened; leavened with a chemical leavener, like baking powder; or leavened just barely with yeast so that they remain flat.

Flatbreads, being much quicker and easier to make than yeast breads, are found all around the world in many different forms, from Ethiopia’s injera (a soft, naturally leavened bread using teff flour) to Norway’s flatbrod (a hard and crisp whole grain round) to China’s moo shu pancakes. We’ll just dip our toe into the waters here, examining some of the many delicious and beloved flatbreads that exist.

Carta di Musica

12 flatbreads

Also known as Sardinian parchment bread, this bread’s colorful name comes from the dough, which is supposed to be rolled so thinly that you can read sheet music through it. It is best baked on a baking stone, where it crisps up beautifully. Carta di musica is the perfect vehicle for anything from roasted garlic to spoonfuls of caponata.

2 cups (240g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup (161g) semolina

1½ teaspoons salt

1¼ cups (284g) water

olive oil, for brushing

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary (optional)

Preheat the oven for at least 40 minutes at 450°F; if you have a baking stone, put it in the oven before preheating. If working without a baking stone, preheat a baking sheet by putting it in the oven for 10 minutes so the breads are placed on a hot surface.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and the salt. Slowly add the water, stirring with a wooden spoon or dough whisk until the mixture forms a soft dough—all of the water may not be necessary. Knead the dough with your hands to form a ball. Place on a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is firm and smooth, but not sticky. Divide the dough evenly into twelve balls. Place the balls on a lightly floured surface. Flatten each ball into a 4^″ round. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. After dough has rested, generously flour the work surface and roll each portion of the dough as thin as possible into an 8^″ or 9^″ round.

1. Carefully drape the rolled carta di musica over your hand, and place on the baking stone.

2. The cooked, crisp carta di musica, left, and an unbaked piece on the right.

Place several rounds of dough on an ungreased baking sheet and place in the oven, or transfer to a baking stone using a baker’s peel. Bake until the top of the bread is firm and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the rounds over and bake until the other side is slightly browned. Transfer the bread to a rack to cool. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and rosemary, if using.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 flatbread, 59g

Lavash

4 sheets

This easy-to-make unleavened bread is quite simple in both technique and ingredient list, which makes it an excellent go-to recipe for bakers of all levels. It is the ideal complement to any kind of spread, from soft butter to smoked salmon and cream cheese.

3½ cups (420g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons salt

¾ teaspoon sugar

¼ cup (50g) vegetable shortening

1 large egg

1 cup (227g) milk

½ cup (70g) sesame seeds, toasted, or a combination of any small seeds you like

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in shortening. Beat the egg and milk together and stir into the flour mixture, mixing well. The dough will be firm. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Divide dough into four pieces and roll each to ¹/16^″ thickness on the back of a lightly greased baking sheet or on a piece of parchment paper. Brush the lavash with water and sprinkle the tops with seeds. Go over the dough once more, lightly, to press the seeds into the surface. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until browned and crisp. Break into pieces and serve.

The dough can most easily be rolled thin on the back of a greased baking sheet. Brush with water, then sprinkle the top with seeds.

Nutrition information per serving: 1/8 sheet, 19g

Seeded Crackerbread

3 pans crackerbread

Crackerbread, an extra-thin focaccia type of loaf, is easy to make, bakes quickly, and can be broken up by hand into serving-size pieces at the table. Eat it with a meal or just grab pieces of it as a snack or with drinks; this is an all-purpose bread.

2½ teaspoons instant yeast

1½ cups (336g) water, lukewarm (110°F)

5 cups (600g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon (12g) sugar

1 tablespoon (18g) salt

1 tablespoon (13g) olive oil

¼ to 1/3 cup (35g to 46g) sesame or poppy seeds

coarsely ground pepper and salt, for sprinkling

Stir together yeast, water, flour, sugar, and salt. Knead them to form a smooth dough and place in a large greased bowl, turning to coat all over with oil. Cover it and let rise for 1 hour, or until nicely puffed.

Punch down the dough, shape into a ball, and let rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, lightly oil the bottom of three half-sheet pans (13^{̋ x}18^″).

Divide dough into thirds. Take one third, place it on the bottom of a half-sheet pan, and roll it out as thin as you can; it should be ¹/16^″ or less. If dough resists rolling and keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes, then start again. Dough should cover entire bottom of pan.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Lightly brush dough with oil and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds and coarsely ground pepper and salt, if desired. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until bread is very brown. Remove it from the oven and let cool; bread will become crisp as it cools, and is actually better 24 hours after you bake it.

Note: Any type of large flat pan will work here. You want a large enough pan—or enough smaller pans—to be able to roll the dough very thin. Since this bread bakes so quickly, you can do the whole thing using only one pan; it will simply take longer.

Nutrition information per serving: 1/12 pan, 28g

Sesame Crisps

8 crisps

Crisp and crunchy, nutty with the taste of sesame, these oversized ultra-thin crackers are one of our very favorite options for hors d’oeuvres. Using 00 or pastry flour creates a mellow, easy-to-roll dough.

1½ cups (168g) 00 flour or pastry flour

¾ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup (77g) water

2 tablespoons (25g) olive oil

½ cup (70g) toasted sesame seeds

sesame or garlic oil, for brushing

Combine all the ingredients to make a stiff dough. You can do this by hand, with the help of an electric mixer, or in a bread machine set on the manual cycle. Knead the dough for a minute or less; you don’t need to develop the gluten—just make sure all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Shape the dough into a flattened ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and set it aside to rest and relax at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, each about the size of a golf ball (35g to 42g). Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten the balls. Cover them and let rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. If you have a baking stone, place it on the floor of your gas oven, or on the lowest rack of your electric oven. If you don’t have a baking stone, place a baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough into a thin 6^″ circle. Set the circle aside and continue rolling the dough until you’ve got eight thin rounds.

Working quickly, pick up two pieces of dough and gently toss them onto the baking stone or baking sheet, making sure they lie flat. Close the oven door and bake for 3 minutes. Using a spatula or tongs, turn the rounds over and bake for 3 minutes on the other side, until the rounds are a light golden brown around the edges. (Check them after 2 to 2½ minutes to be sure they’re not too brown; they can burn quickly.) Remove the crisps from the oven and quickly spray or brush them with sesame or garlic oil. Place on a rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining rounds. Eat immediately, or store in an airtight container.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 crisp, 44g

Wraps and Tortillas

The wrap is nothing more than a variation on the traditional flour tortilla. Spinach powder, tomato powder, or a pinch of turmeric will add brilliant color and great flavor to wraps; you may also choose to turn a plain wrap or tortilla into one flavored with cheese, or herbs and spices, or garlic.

Wraps are an ideal vehicle for sandwich fillings. Just pile the filling onto the wrap, tuck in the ends, and roll it up. Flour tortillas can become burritos, and corn tortillas tacos, using the same technique.

Picnic Wraps

8 wraps

This thin, flexible bread is designed to be soft yet sturdy enough to stuff it full of hearty ingredients. By folding over the ends before rolling, the wrap is sealed to ensure safe transport to the sylvan picnic spot of your choice.

2 cups (240g) unbleached bread flour

3 tablespoons (28g) vegetable oil

½ to ¾ cup (112g to 168g) water

½ teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and oil. Gradually mix in the water and salt. Knead briefly, just until the dough is smooth.

1.A picnic wrap is pictured on the right; on the left is Soft Wrap Bread (page 132).

2. Dry-frying the wrap will give it a freckled appearance. It should be ready to turn after 45 seconds of cooking on the first side.

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Round them into balls, flatten slightly, and let them rest, covered, for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat an ungreased heavy frying pan over medium heat. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it out until it’s about 8^″ in diameter. Fry the wrap for about 45 seconds on each side until it’s a mottled brown. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 wrap, 59g

Roti

8 roti

The world of Indian flatbreads is huge and varied, representing a host of cultures. Roti is just one of the many—the term roti is used to refer both generally to all of India’s griddle-baked flatbreads collectively or specifically to either an unleavened, whole wheat bread within that category or a white flour, leavened, fat-enriched bread. We chose the latter to showcase here. Serve it as part of an Indian meal, of course, but also consider using it as a wrap, especially hot from the griddle.

3 cups (360g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (25g) vegetable oil

¾ to 1 cup (168g to 224g) water

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil and enough water to form a dough that is soft but not sticky. Let rest for 30 minutes, then cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll the dough into balls, then cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll out each piece on a floured board to make a 6^″ to 8^″ disk.

Heat a griddle over medium heat. Brush the griddle with oil, then brush the roti disks with oil on both sides. Place the roti on the griddle and cook until the top starts to blister. Flip roti and cook for 1 minute more. Serve warm, or cool completely and use as a wrap.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 roti, 75g

Soft Cornmeal Wraps

10 wraps

Just as tortillas often come in plain flour and cornmeal versions, so do our favorite wraps. Cornmeal adds a delicate golden color and a subtle hint of sweetness to these tender, pliable breads.

2 cups (240g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup (137g) yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon instant yeast

2 tablespoons (18g) nonfat dry milk

2 tablespoons (21g) butter

1 cup (224g) water

In a medium bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter. Gradually mix in the water. Knead briefly, just until the dough is smooth.

Divide the dough into 10 pieces, weighing about 55g each. Round them into balls, flatten slightly, and let them rest, covered, for at least 30 minutes. This resting period improves the texture of the dough by giving the flour time to absorb the water, and it also gives the gluten time to relax, making the wraps easier to roll out.

Preheat an ungreased cast iron griddle or heavy frying pan over medium heat. Working with one piece of dough at a time (keep the remaining dough balls covered), roll out the balls until they’re about 8^″ in diameter. Fry the wraps in the ungreased pan for about 45 seconds on each side. (Or use a tortilla press.) Stack wraps on top of one another as you fry them to keep them soft and pliable. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store, tightly wrapped, in a plastic bag at room temperature. To store them longer than a few days, freeze them.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 wrap, 55g

Soft Wrap Bread

8 breads

We use a rather unusual method to make this bread: boiling water is added to the flour, “cooking” the starch and making the resultant dough soft and easy to roll out. In addition, precooking the starch this way eliminates any possibility of a starchy taste in the final bread; all in all, we find these wrap-like rounds better tasting than conventional flour tortillas or other wraps. In texture, they’re thicker and sturdier than a tortilla—and more like a pita bread. If you like the bread in your sandwich to be a substantial part of the whole, this is a good recipe for you.

3 to 3¼ cups (360g to 390g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1½ cups (336g) boiling water

¼ cup (42g) potato flour or ½ cup (43g) potato flakes

1¼ teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons (25g) vegetable oil

1 teaspoon instant yeast*

Place 2 cups (240g) of the flour in a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the flour and stir until smooth. Cover the bowl and set aside to cool the mixture for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour and 1 cup (120g) of the remaining flour with the salt, oil, and yeast. Add this to the cooled flour / water mixture, stir, then knead for several minutes (by hand or mixer) to form a soft dough. The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat sticky. Add additional flour only if necessary; if kneading by hand, keep your hands and work surface lightly oiled. Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise, covered, for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces (about 84g each), cover, and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece into a 7^″ to 8^″ circle and dry-fry them (fry without oil) over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until they’re puffed and flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out. Transfer the cooked breads to a rack, stacking them to keep them soft. Serve immediately, or cool slightly before storing in a plastic bag.

* This recipe works best with instant yeast because it dissolves during the kneading process, so you don’t have to knead liquid into the dough. If you prefer to use active dry yeast, use only 1 cup boiling water for the initial dough, dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup warm water, and add this mixture to the dough along with the potato flour mixture. It’ll be somewhat slippery at first, but will knead in and eventually become smooth.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 bread, 98g

Thin Cornmeal Tortillas

10 tortillas

The following is a classic tortilla in texture: wafer-thin and pliable. However, it includes both flour and cornmeal, something a true tortilla would never do. We just happen to love the delicate sweetness that cornmeal adds.

1 1/3 cups (160g) unbleached all-purpose flour

2/3 cup (91g) yellow cornmeal

¼ cup (50g) vegetable oil

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (126g) water

½ teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, and oil. Gradually mix in the water and salt. Knead briefly, just until the dough is smooth.

Divide the dough into 10 pieces, weighing about 36g each. Round the pieces into balls, flatten them slightly, and let them rest, covered, for at least 30 minutes. This resting period improves the texture of the dough by giving the flour time to absorb the water, and it also gives the gluten time to relax, making the tortillas easier to roll out.

Preheat an ungreased cast iron griddle or heavy frying pan over medium heat. Working with one piece of dough at a time (keep the remaining dough balls covered), roll out each ball until about 8^″ in diameter. Fry the tortillas in the ungreased pan for about 45 seconds on each side (or use a tortilla press). Stack tortillas on top of one another as you remove them from the pan, to keep them soft and pliable. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store, tightly wrapped, in a plastic bag at room temperature. To store tortillas longer than a few days, freeze them.

Nutrition information per serving: 1 tortilla, 36g